


Homecoming

by pkmntrainer_alex



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Corruption, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:15:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23958274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pkmntrainer_alex/pseuds/pkmntrainer_alex
Summary: The brothers are reunited as they were always meant to be.
Kudos: 65





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Germa Corruption AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/618574) by dual-mayhem. 



> \- The story was strongly inspired by the art/comics I've seen from dual-mayhem on Tumblr. The concept of Corrupted!Sanji was deeply enticing and there's a lot to play with there  
> \- Might do something more with this AU in the future, not sure exactly what yet
> 
> HERE is a link to the panels dual-mayhem did as part of our collaboration - they look great, please check them out!: https://dual-mayhem.tumblr.com/post/617655283000410112/read-that-way-this-is-a-collab-with

“Are you two finished yet?” The voice through the transponder was flat, and bored. “I don’t understand why this is taking so long.”

“We finished a while ago,” Niji growled back at his older brother, standing on the crumbled remains of what had been some kind of church. Was he trying to imply that he and Yonji were dragging their feet, just fucking around? He looked all around him, and all he could see were ruined buildings, broken bodies, and Yonji doing a quick once-over to make sure there were no survivors. Every now and then, he caught the sound of another neck being snapped. They were paid well to be thorough. “It’s not my fault you didn’t contact us sooner.”

“You’re just as capable of contacting me as I am you. Calm down.” Ichiji brushed off Niji’s clear agitation. “If you’re finished, I’ll come to you.” 

Grumbling as he put the transponder back in his jacket, Niji glanced over at Yonji, who was straightening up next to a pile of bodies, laughing to himself as he positioned some of them in compromising ways. “Ichiji is coming.”

“That’s fine.” Yonji sat down on a pile of rubble beside his handiwork. He brushed dirt off his cape, and looked at the destruction around them. “This took longer than it should have.”

“It did not,” Niji snapped. If Ichiji overheard that, neither of them would ever hear the end of it.

“Hmph.” 

They didn’t have to wait very long for their eldest brother to join, walking past small fires, dead civilians, and crumbled homes the way an average person would stroll down the street. This life was second nature to them - and this was how things went when they were hired for a job. Ichiji hadn’t been present for more than a few seconds before Niji watched his mouth thin into a line. “You said you two were finished.”

Yonji cocked his head at him, eyebrow raised. “We are.” He indicated the bodies beside him, and his mouth slipped into a smile. “Look at these ones, I -”

“Then who’s that?” He raised a hand and pointed several meters away from where they had gathered, towards the crooked remains of what had been some kind of impressive building before they’d gone to work. Niji and Yonji looked and saw a figure dressed in black, half cloaked in shadow, glancing around the corner at them. 

Now they would _definitely_ never hear the end of it. 

Niji got there first, of course, swinging his leg around for a kick that would collide perfectly with the stranger’s head and drop them like a rock - only for the person to blip into nothingness in front of him. His leg whipped through the air at nothing, leaving him looking around wildly. “Where the hell did he go?”

The stranger reappeared several feet away, and Niji got a closer look at him. He was dressed completely in black, the bottom half of his face concealed while a hood was pulled over his head. Even without being able to see his mouth, Niji could _feel_ that he was laughing at him.

“I’ve got him.” Yonji rushed past next, fist pulled back for what Niji knew would be a devastating blow. The stranger quickly ducked Yonji’s attack, flipping easily onto his hands and kicking him hard across the face, sending him flying back the way he’d come, directly past where Ichiji was waiting. This was no amateur, Niji could tell - and something was _familiar_ about the way he attacked.

Just as Niji was ready to rush in once more, his eyes registered more of the stranger’s outfit, and he realized he was staring at a raid suit that almost perfectly mirrored his own. What brought him to a screeching halt was the cape, completely indistinguishable from his or Yonji’s save for the large ‘3’ across it.

“Niji. Yonji. Stop.” Niji heard Ichiji command behind him, completely unnecessarily. “You too _,_ Sanji.”

“You’re not having fun?” The stranger asked, in a voice Niji knew anywhere. “ _I_ was having fun.”

Niji’s hands balled up in fists, even as he stood rooted in place. _Sanji_ had been the one making a fool of them? He hadn’t given him that raid suit just for him to appear out of nowhere to be a pest.

“Sanji?” Yonji, head dented in as it had been the last time he’d gone up against Sanji, looked bewildered. He joined Ichiji, eyes narrowing in Sanji’s direction.

“Why are you here?” Ichiji demanded, his voice quiet and dangerous. “I thought we made it clear that we don’t need -”

“Yes, yes, you don’t need a _failure_ hanging around.” Sanji snickered. Something in his voice sounded different than last time, and he didn’t react at all to the dead bodies or the ruined town around them as they approached each other, with the three of them stopping several feet back from him. “I think things are different this time, wouldn’t you?”

“Depends,” Yonji shot back aggressively, rubbing his freshly dented face. “Are you still a failure?”

Sanji chuckled again. “Funny you should mention that, actually. I know I wasn’t...what you all had hoped for when you saw me last. I honestly don’t know what to make of it myself, looking back on it now.”

Beside him, Niji felt Ichiji stiffen slightly, studying Sanji with a suspicious look. Sanji brought his white-gloved hands to his head, one grasping his hood and the other tugging at the mask that covered the bottom half of his face. He pulled both away in a fluid motion, leaving his face exposed.

The hair that had been blonde the last time they’d all met was solid, inky black, slicked into two sections with one pointing up and the other down. His mouth was pulled into a leering smile that flashed teeth, and - most astonishingly to Niji - his ridiculous backward eyebrows had righted themselves, perfectly matching the three of them. 

“I can assure you all I’m not the failure I was,” Sanji continued, starting to laugh again. Niji could feel himself starting to smile as well, and he noticed Ichiji and Yonji looked just as pleased. “I feel _so much better_ now.”

“What are you wanting, Sanji?” Ichiji asked, unable to conceal the smile spreading across his face.

“What do _I_ want?” Sanji moved closer to them, closing the gap they had left. He cocked his head at them as though the answer should have been obvious. “I want my rightful place in Germa, as one of its princes. I want my commanding position in Germa 66, as is also my right.”

Yonji started laughing loudly, but Niji could tell it was genuine happiness, excitement. Niji could scarcely believe what he was seeing, but he started to laugh along as well.

Sanji paused, and Ichiji gave an approving nod, gesturing with his hand for him to continue.

“I want to _come home_.”


End file.
